Library
Biblioteca Salaborsa
Cast-iron former grain exchange turned public library, its glass floor open to Roman ruins below.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Biblioteca Salaborsa in Bologna starts on the trading floor of the grain and stock exchange that opened here in 1886, all cast iron and glass built to rival Naples's grand galleries. You'll hear how the boom that built it turned to bust by 1903, and how the hall came back to life in 1926 under a government minister, living a double role as trading floor by day and boxing ring by night. It follows the building's swings in fortune before workers ever thought to lift the floor beneath your feet.
This audio guide was created using AI.